Effective Goal Setting: A Four-Step Process for Business Success

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1. Identify the problem you're trying to solve: Before setting goals, identify the problem you're trying to solve. Most goals should be connected to one of three things: getting more customers, making customers more valuable, or increasing the Enterprise value of the company.
2. Hypothesize the outcome: Instead of stating a goal as a objective, create a hypothesis of what will happen if you achieve a specific input (e.g., decreasing call time to five minutes). This allows you to test and measure the outcome.
3. Define the input and output: Break down the hypothesis into two variables: the input (e.g., decreasing call time to five minutes) and the output (e.g., increasing scheduling).
4. Track progress and measure outcomes: Create a "before" phase to track the current state, and an "after" phase to review the outcome. Use this to iterate and improve the process.
5. Focus on incremental improvements: Big businesses often grow through small, incremental improvements. Focus on making small changes to existing processes rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.
6. Set goals from the top down: Start with company-wide goals and break them down to departmental and individual goals. This helps employees understand how their work contributes to the bigger picture.
7. Take time to think about goals: Goal setting should be a thoughtful process that requires time and reflection. Take time to consider why you're doing what you're doing and how it contributes to the company's overall goals.

By following these four steps and adopting a hypothesis-driven approach to goal setting, you can create a more effective and measurable plan for achieving your goals.

Source: How I Set Goals That Actually Make Money, Alex Hormozi